Method for depositing tungsten film having low resistivity, low roughness and high reflectivity

ABSTRACT

Top-down methods of increasing reflectivity of tungsten films to form films having high reflectivity, low resistivity and low roughness are provided. The methods involve bulk deposition of tungsten followed by a removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten. In particular embodiments, removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten involve exposing it to a fluorine-containing plasma. The methods produce low resistivity tungsten bulk layers having lower roughness and higher reflectivity. The smooth and highly reflective tungsten layers are easier to photopattern than conventional low resistivity tungsten films. Applications include forming tungsten bit lines.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to methods for preparing tungsten films.Embodiments of the invention are useful for integrated circuitapplications that require tungsten films having low electricalresistivity, low roughness and high reflectivity.

BACKGROUND

The deposition of tungsten films using chemical vapor deposition (CVD)techniques is an integral part of many semiconductor fabricationprocesses. Tungsten films may be used as low resistivity electricalconnections in the form of horizontal interconnects, vias betweenadjacent metal layers, and contacts between a first metal layer and thedevices on the silicon substrate. In a conventional tungsten depositionprocess, the wafer is heated to the process temperature in a vacuumchamber, and then a very thin portion of tungsten film, which serves asa seed or nucleation layer, is deposited. Thereafter, the remainder ofthe tungsten film (the bulk layer) is deposited on the nucleation layer.Conventionally, the tungsten bulk layer is formed by the reduction oftungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) with hydrogen (H₂) on the growing tungstenlayer.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Top-down methods of increasing reflectivity of tungsten films to formfilms having high reflectivity, low resistivity and low roughness areprovided. The methods involve bulk deposition of tungsten followed by aremoving a top portion of the deposited tungsten. In particularembodiments, removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten involveexposing it to a fluorine-containing plasma. The methods produce lowresistivity tungsten bulk layers having lower roughness and higherreflectivity. The smooth and highly reflective tungsten layers areeasier to photopattern than conventional low resistivity tungsten films.Applications include forming tungsten bit lines.

In certain embodiments, methods of depositing tungsten films involvingchemical vapor deposition are provided. The deposited films are etchedback, e.g., using a NF3 remote plasma. Tungsten film roughness andreflectivity are improved by etching off sharp tungsten peaks and othernon-uniformities that dominate the deposited film surface. Additionally,resistivity is improved over a regularly deposited film of identicalfinal thickness. Unlike previous methods of roughness reduction, whichincrease resistivity, resistivity and roughness are improvedsimultaneously in the methods described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description can be more fully understood whenconsidered in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a process flow sheet showing relevant operations of methodsaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the change in tungsten filmgrain structure after etching according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing reflectivity as a function of film thicknessesfor films formed by an embodiment of the methods described herein ascompared to films formed by conventional CVD deposition.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing resistivity as a function of film thicknessesfor films formed by an embodiment of the methods described herein ascompared to films formed by conventional CVD deposition.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a processing system suitable for conductingtungsten deposition processes in accordance with embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing components of chamber suitable for carryingout tungsten deposition and etch-back processes in accordance withembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention,which pertains to forming thin tungsten films. Modifications,adaptations or variations of specific methods and structures shown anddiscussed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art and arewithin the scope of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention involve depositing tungsten layersthat have low resistivity and low roughness. In previous processes,resistivity and roughness of tungsten film have been inversely related;lowering resistivity results in increased roughness and vice-versa. As aresult, percentage root mean square (RMS) roughness to film thicknessmay exceed 10% for low resistivity tungsten films of 500 Å or greater.Lowering the roughness of the film makes subsequent operations,including patterning, easier.

The methods described also provide highly reflective films. Conventionalprocesses for depositing bulk tungsten layers involve hydrogen reductionof tungsten-containing precursors in chemical vapor deposition (CVD)processes. The reflectivity of a 1000 A film that is grown byconventional hydrogen reduction CVD is 110% or less compared to that ofa silicon surface. In certain applications, however, tungsten filmshaving greater reflectivity are needed. For example, tungsten filmshaving low reflectivity and high roughness can make photopatterningtungsten, e.g., to form bitlines or other structures, more difficult.

Methods of depositing reflective tungsten films having low resistivitythat involve CVD deposition of tungsten in the presence of alternatingnitrogen gas pulses are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/202,126, entitled “Method For Reducing Tungsten Roughness AndImproving Reflectivity,” filed Aug. 29, 2008, and incorporated byreference herein. Other prior techniques for roughness reductions,reflectivity improvement or resistivity reduction involve modifying theprocess chemistry. In certain applications, however, the addition ofnitrogen or other modifications to the process chemistry may beundesirable. For example, step coverage, plugfill degradation andelectrical performance degradation due to the presence of incompatibleelements arise from these bottom-up methods. The methods describedherein, by contrast, can be used with any deposition chemistry withoutmodification. In certain embodiments, for example, there is no nitrogenexposure during the deposition.

In certain embodiments, the methods provided herein involve bulkdeposition of a tungsten layer via chemical vapor deposition on asubstrate followed by an etch-back of a top portion of a deposited bulklayer. The resulting tungsten film has resistivity comparable to that ofa film deposited by conventional large grain tungsten CVD processes, butwith much higher reflectivity and lower roughness.

FIG. 1 shows a process according to certain embodiments of theinvention. The process begins by depositing a tungsten nucleation layeron a substrate. Block 101. In general, a nucleation layer is a thinconformal layer which serves to facilitate the subsequent formation of abulk material thereon. In certain embodiments, the nucleation layer isdeposited using a pulsed nucleation layer (PNL) technique. In a PNLtechnique, pulses of the reducing agent, purge gases, andtungsten-containing precursors are sequentially injected into and purgedfrom the reaction chamber. The process is repeated in a cyclical fashionuntil the desired thickness is achieved. PNL broadly embodies anycyclical process of sequentially adding reactants for reaction on asemiconductor substrate.

PNL techniques may be used in particular for the deposition of lowresistivity films in small features. As features become smaller, thetungsten (W) contact or line resistance increases due to scatteringeffects in the thinner W film. While efficient tungsten depositionprocesses require tungsten nucleation layers, these layers typicallyhave higher electrical resistivities than the bulk tungsten layers. Lowresistivity tungsten films minimize power losses and overheating inintegrated circuit designs. Because the ρ_(nucleation)>ρ_(bulk), thethickness of the nucleation layer should be minimized to keep the totalresistance as low as possible. The tungsten nucleation should also besufficiently thick to fully cover the underlying substrate to supporthigh quality bulk deposition.

PNL techniques for depositing tungsten nucleation layers that have lowresistivity and that support deposition of low resistivity tungsten bulklayers are described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/030,645,11/951,236 and 61/061,078, incorporated by reference herein. Additionaldiscussion regarding PNL type processes can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,635,965, 6,844,258, 7,005,372 and 7,141,494 as well as in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/265,531, also incorporated herein by reference.In certain embodiments, low resistivity treatment operations areperformed during or after the tungsten nucleation layer deposition. Themethods described herein are not limited to a particular method oftungsten nucleation layer deposition, but include deposition bulktungsten film on tungsten nucleation layers formed by any methodincluding PNL, atomic layer deposition (ALD), CVD, and any other method.

Returning to FIG. 1, after the tungsten nucleation layer is deposited,and any desired treatment has been performed, a bulk tungsten layer ofthickness T1 is deposited on the nucleation layer. Block 103. ThicknessT1 is typically greater than the total desired thickness Td to accountfor the portion of the layer to be removed during the etch operation. Incertain embodiments, bulk deposition involves a chemical vapordeposition (CVD) process in which a tungsten-containing precursor isreduced by hydrogen to deposit tungsten. While tungsten hexafluoride(WF6) is often used, the process may be performed with other tungstenprecursors, including, but not limited to, WCl6. In addition, whilehydrogen is generally used as the reducing agent in the CVD depositionof the bulk tungsten layer, other reducing agents including silane maybe used in addition or instead of hydrogen without departing from thescope of the invention. In another embodiment, W(CO)6 may be used withor without a reducing agent. Unlike with the PNL processes describedabove, in a CVD technique, the WF₆ and H₂ or other reactants aresimultaneously introduced into the reaction chamber. This produces acontinuous chemical reaction of mix reactant gases that continuouslyforms tungsten film on the substrate surface.

Once a layer having thickness T1 is deposited, the bulk depositionprocess is halted. Block 105. As discussed further below, T1 is greaterthan the final desired thickness Td. A top portion of the layer is thenremoved or etched back. Block 107. In certain embodiments, the etchingprocess involves a plasma etch. This may involve introducing activatedspecies (including radicals, ions and/or high energy molecules) from aremote plasma generator. In certain embodiments, the removal operationinvolves a fluorine-based plasma etch, e.g., a remote NF3 plasma etch.The extent of the etch-back is discussed further below, though incertain embodiments, about 10% of the layer deposited in operation 103is removed.

The flow of fluorine activated species (or other species depending onthe removal chemistry) is then shut off. Typically, the process iscomplete at this point if the deposited thickness after etch-back is thedesired total thickness. In certain embodiments, at least one additionaldeposition-removal cycle is performed to deposit the tungsten layer.

The method described above produces films having higher reflectivity andlower roughness than films deposited by conventional methods havingidentical thicknesses. For example, in one experiment, reflectivity (ascompared to a bare silicon wafer) of a 1940 Å film as deposited was103%. After exposure to a remote NF3 plasma to remove 200 Å,reflectivity was 115%. By contrast, a 1720 A film deposited by CVD withno etch back had a reflectivity of 106%. Additionally, resistivity ofthe etch tungsten film is lower than a conventionally deposited film ofthe same thickness—in certain embodiments, about 20% lower. This issignificant because an increase in reflectivity is accompanied by anincrease in resistivity in conventional methods.

Typically, low resistivity is achieved by large grain growth, whilesmoothness and high reflectivity is achieved by using small graindeposition. Tungsten grain growth occurs in lateral and verticaldirections. In certain embodiments, the methods descried herein involvegrowing large grain tungsten in a bulk deposition process. Afterdeposition, the vertically-oriented grain growth is selectively etched.After etching, the large laterally-oriented growth remains, providinglow resistivity, while reflectivity is increased and roughness issignificantly reduced. This is illustrated in FIG. 2, which showsschematic illustrations of the tungsten layer before (201) and after(203) a fluorine-based remote etched. The layer shown at 203 is about90% as that shown in 201. Prior to the etch, sharp peaks, such as peak205, are present. These peaks cause difficulties in subsequentlithographic patterning. After the etch, however, the grain profile ismore flat, making the surface more reflective.

Not only does the etch process result in a more reflective surfacecompared to the unetched layer 201 as shown in FIG. 2, but resistivityand roughness are also improved for a film of comparable thickness. FIG.3 is a graph showing reflectivity for films of various thicknesses asdeposited by a conventional method (CVD deposition to the indicatedthickness) and films as deposited by an embodiment of the invention (CVDdeposition of 1940 Å+etch back to the indicated thickness). Roughtrendlines 301 and 303 show reflectivity as a function of thickness forconventional deposition and for deposition+etch-back, respectively. Ascan be seen from the figure, there is a rapid increase in reflectivity,as compared to the conventional layer, from an insignificant portionetched (at 305) to about 200 Å etched. The improvement in reflectivitythen flattens out as more film is etched. A maximum impact region(indicated at 307) shows the range of thicknesses removed in the etchoperation that results in greatest improvement in reflectivity. Thiscorresponds to about 10% of the as-deposited film thickness. Thus, incertain embodiments, the final film thickness is between about 75-95%,or more particularly, 80-95% of the as-deposited film thickness. Withoutbeing bound by a particular theory, it is believed that the maximumimpact region etch-back corresponds to the peaks of the as-depositedfilm being removed. The top-down etch operation selectively removes thepeaks because there is more surface area near the peaks of theas-deposited film. By stopping the etch process before the lower regionsare etched, only the peaks are removed, leaving the lateral growth ofthe grains intact. As indicated, however, resistivity is unexpectedlyalso found to be lower following the etch process as compared to thesame layers prior to etching. Without being bound by a particulartheory, it is believed that this unexpected effect may be due to thegrain boundaries being less defined after the etch operation. Asdiscussed further below, in certain embodiments, resistivity is furtherimproved (lowered) by using certain etch operation process conditions.

The removal operation may be any physical or chemical removal operationthat can be used to remove a top portion of the as-deposited film. Etchchemistries that may be employed include fluorine-containing etchchemistries, including using xenon difluoride, molecular fluorine andnitrogen trifluoride. Bromine and chlorine-containing compounds,including nitrogen trichloride, molecular chlorine and molecularbromine. In certain embodiments, the etch may be a plasma etch. Theplasma may be generated remotely or in the chamber. In a particularembodiment, NF3 is fed to a remote plasma generator. Activated species,including atomic fluorine, are generated within the remote plasmagenerator and flowed into the chamber for the chemical etch.

Etchant pressure has been found to affect film resistivity, with higherpressure resulting in lower resistivity. This effect is demonstrated inFIG. 4, which presents a graph showing resistivity of films of variousthicknesses. Films deposited using conventional direct CVD deposition(squares) and films deposited to 1940 Å and etched to the indicatedthickness (diamonds). The graph shows the partial pressure of the NF3 asintroduced to the remote plasma generator for various thicknesses offilms formed by deposition and etching. Curve 401 is a rough trendlineshowing resistivity as a function of thickness for films deposited usinglow NF3 partial pressure (0.17 and 0.24 Torr) and curve 403 is a roughtrendline of showing resistivity as a function of thickness for filmsdeposited using high NF3 partial pressure (1 Torr). Using high partialpressure results in films having lower resistivity. The improvement inresistivity is also seen comparing data points 405 and 407, representingreflectivity of a conventionally deposited film and a high NF3 etchedfilm, respectively, both films of thickness about 930 Å. Theconventionally deposited film has a resistivity of almost 18micro-ohm-cm, whereas the high NF3 film has a resistivity of less than16 micro-ohm-cm—a greater than 20% improvement.

In certain embodiments, the partial pressure of the etchant asintroduced to a remote plasma generator is above 0.5 Torr, and as highas 80 Torr. In particular embodiments, the partial pressure of theetchant is about 1 Torr as flowed into the remote plasma generator, ordeposition chamber.

Comparing the resistivity of the conventionally deposited films to thatof etched films of comparable thicknesses (e.g., at about 400 Å andabout 900 Å), the resistivity of the etched films is less than that ofthe conventionally deposited films. Resistivity improves for both highflow (high partial pressure) etchant as well as low flow (low partialpressure) etchant over conventionally deposited film. This is shown inthe table below:

Resistivity Final As-deposited Final as-deposited resistivity ThicknessThickness (micro- (micro- Process (Å) (Å) ohm-cm) ohm-cm) Conventional1720 1720 15.5 15.5 Dep-Low 1940 1740 15 15 NF3 Etch Conventional 13501350 17 17 (estimated from trendline) Dep-High 1940 1350 15 14.3 NF3Etch

With conventional deposition, there is an inverse relationship betweenresistivity and thickness: resistivity decreases with increasingthickness. Using the methods described herein however, it is possible toobtain low resistivity thin films. This process may be used to depositthin films having low resistivity, with final thin film thicknessranging according to various embodiments, from 100 Å to 1000 Å. For thinfilms, the final film thickness may be between 10%-90% of theas-deposited film, i.e., as much as 90% of the as-deposited film may beremoved to create the low resistivity thin film.

In addition to chemical etching, the top portion may be removed incertain embodiments by sputtering, e.g., with argon, or by a very softchemical mechanical planarization (CMP) method such as touch CMP.

In another embodiment, the chamber is simultaneously cleaned while theetch process takes place. By introducing a fluorine-based etchant intothe chamber, tungsten deposited on the interior parts of the chamber maybe removed while the deposited tungsten layer is etched. Bysimultaneously cleaning the chamber while etching, the necessity ofindependent chamber clean operations is reduced or eliminated.

Experimental

Tungsten films were deposited on tungsten nucleation layers onsemiconductor wafers using a conventional hydrogen reduction of WF6 CVDprocess. Films of 389 Å, 937 Å, 1739 Å and 1942 Å (center thickness)were deposited. Reflectivity and resistivity were measured for allfilms.

Tungsten films were deposited on tungsten nucleation layers using adeposition-etch process in accordance with that described in FIG. 1. Ahydrogen reduction of WF6 CVD process was used to deposit the films.Deposition conditions were the same as for the conventionally depositedfilms. As deposited thickness for all films was about 1940 Å (rangingfrom 1935 Å to 1947 Å). A remote NF3 plasma was used to etch the films,with etch amounts ranging from 1 Å to 1787 Å, resulting in finalthicknesses ranging from 151 Å to 1941 Å. NF3 partial pressure was setat one of the following levels: 0.02 Torr, 0.17 Torr, 0.24 Torr or 1Torr. Reflectivity and resistivity were measured for all films afteretching.

Reflectivity improves by about 10% after etch as compared toconventionally deposited films of comparable thickness. Results of thereflectivity measurements are shown in FIG. 3 and discussed above.

Results of the resistivity measurements are shown in FIG. 4 anddiscussed above.

Roughness is also improved over the conventionally deposited films. Forexample, AFM roughness of a 1940 Å film as deposited was 9.7 nm. AfterNF3 etch of about 20 nm to 1740 Å, roughness was reduced by 2.5 nm to9.2 nm. Roughness of a conventionally deposited 1720 Å film was 9 nm.Roughness is improved by about 20% over the conventionally depositedfilms.

Apparatus

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a processing system suitable for conductingtungsten deposition processes in accordance with embodiments of theinvention. The system 500 includes a transfer module 503. The transfermodule 503 provides a clean, pressurized environment to minimize therisk of contamination of substrates being processed as they are movedbetween the various reactor modules. Mounted on the transfer module 503is a multi-station reactor 509 capable of performing PNL deposition andCVD according to embodiments of the invention. Chamber 509 may includemultiple stations 511, 513, 515, and 517 that may sequentially performthese operations. For example, chamber 509 could be configured such thatstation 511 performs PNL deposition, station 713 performs a nucleationlayer treatment, and stations 513 and 515 perform CVD and etchoperations. Alternatively, the etch operation may be performed in adifferent station as the CVD deposition. In certain embodiments, thedeposition and etch operations may be performed in separate tools.

Also mounted on the transfer module 503 may be one or more single ormulti-station modules 507 capable of performing plasma or chemical(non-plasma) pre-cleans. The module may also be used for various othertreatments, e.g., post liner tungsten nitride treatments. The system 500also includes one or more (in this case two) wafer source modules 501where wafers are stored before and after processing. An atmosphericrobot (not shown) in the atmospheric transfer chamber 519 first removeswafers from the source modules 501 to loadlocks 521. A wafer transferdevice (generally a robot arm unit) in the transfer module 503 moves thewafers from loadlocks 521 to and among the modules mounted on thetransfer module 503.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of a chamber or station that maybe used in an etch operation. The methods of the invention involveintroducing an etchant, e.g., fluorine-based etchant into a reactor orchamber 600, having a pedestal 608 that supports a wafer on whichtungsten is deposited. Atomic fluorine is generated in a remote plasmachamber 630. In operation, a fluorine-containing gas, e.g., NF₃, isintroduced to the remote plasma chamber 630 via a valve 632. Atomicfluorine is generated therein. Valve 634 is opened to allow the atomicspecies to enter the chamber via the showerhead 602. FIG. 6 shows justone example of a remote plasma chamber; other arrangements andconfigurations may be used. Atomic species enter the chamber and etchthe tungsten film (not shown) deposited on the wafer as discussed above.(One of skill in the art will understand that other species may bepresent in the plasma or gases exiting the showerhead into the reactor.For example, the species entering the deposition chamber from theshowerhead may include NF₃ and NF_(x) as well as atomic fluorine. Noions or electrons are present in significant amounts. At higherpressures, NF₃ as well as F₂ is present.) By appropriately adjusting thepressure, the showerhead acts as a tunable source of the desired atomicand/or molecular fluorine etchant. Note that preceding the etch process,deposition precursors may enter the showerhead to deposit the tungstenfilm on the wafer.

Sensors 626 represent gas sensors, pressure sensors etc. that may beused to provide information on reactor conditions. Examples of chambersensors that may be monitored during the clean include mass flowcontrollers, pressure sensors such as manometers, thermocouples locatedin pedestal, and infra-red detectors to monitor the presence of a gas orgases in the chamber.

As the tungsten is removed from the chamber, tungsten hexafluoride isproduced. The tungsten hexafluoride may be sensed by sensors 726,providing an indication of the progress of the etch. The tungstenhexafluoride is removed from the reactor via an outlet (not shown) suchthat once the clean is complete, the sensor will sense no tungstenhexafluoride. Sensors 626 may also include a pressure sensor to providechamber pressure readings.

Molecular fluorine may be supplied to the chamber by methods other thanusing a remote plasma chamber to generate atomic fluorine and regulatingthe pressure so that the atomic fluorine combines into molecularfluorine as described above. For example, fluorine gas may allowed intothe chamber from a fluorine gas supply. However, in embodiments thatemploy both atomic and molecular fluorine as described above, the use ofthe remote plasma chamber provides a simple way to switch betweenstages. Moreover, the remote plasma chamber allows the use of NF₃, whichis easier to handle than molecular fluorine, as an inlet gas to thesystem. Certain embodiments may employ a direct (in-situ) plasma for thegeneration of atomic fluorine.

In certain embodiments, a system controller 624 is employed to controlprocess conditions during deposition and removal operations. Thecontroller will typically include one or more memory devices and one ormore processors. The processor may include a CPU or computer, analogand/or digital input/output connections, stepper motor controllerboards, etc.

The controller may control all of the activities of the depositionapparatus. The system controller executes system control softwareincluding sets of instructions for controlling the timing, mixture ofgases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, wafer temperature, RFpower levels, wafer chuck or pedestal position, and other parameters ofa particular process. Other computer programs stored on memory devicesassociated with the controller may be employed in some embodiments.

Typically there will be a user interface associated with the controller.The user interface may include a display screen, graphical softwaredisplays of the apparatus and/or process conditions, and user inputdevices such as pointing devices, keyboards, touch screens, microphones,etc.

The computer program code for controlling the deposition and removalprocesses in a process sequence can be written in any conventionalcomputer readable programming language: for example, assembly language,C, C++, Pascal, Fortran or others. Compiled object code or script isexecuted by the processor to perform the tasks identified in theprogram.

The controller parameters relate to process conditions such as, forexample, process gas composition and flow rates, temperature, pressure,remote plasma conditions such as RF power levels and the low frequencyRF frequency, etchant flow rates or partial pressure, cooling gaspressure, and chamber wall temperature. These parameters are provided tothe user in the form of a recipe, and may be entered utilizing the userinterface.

Signals for monitoring the process may be provided by analog and/ordigital input connections of the system controller. The signals forcontrolling the process are output on the analog and digital outputconnections of the deposition apparatus.

The system software may be designed or configured in many differentways. For example, various chamber component subroutines or controlobjects may be written to control operation of the chamber componentsnecessary to carry out the inventive deposition processes. Examples ofprograms or sections of programs for this purpose include substratepositioning code, process gas control code, pressure control code,heater control code, and plasma control code.

A substrate positioning program may include program code for controllingchamber components that are used to load the substrate onto a pedestalor chuck and to control the spacing between the substrate and otherparts of the chamber such as a gas inlet and/or target. A process gascontrol program may include code for controlling gas composition andflow rates and optionally for flowing gas into the chamber prior todeposition in order to stabilize the pressure in the chamber. A pressurecontrol program may include code for controlling the pressure in thechamber by regulating, e.g., a throttle valve in the exhaust system ofthe chamber. A heater control program may include code for controllingthe current to a heating unit that is used to heat the substrate.Alternatively, the heater control program may control delivery of a heattransfer gas such as helium to the wafer chuck. An etchant controlprogram may include code for controlling the etchant flow rate andpartial pressure, carrier gas flow rate and partial pressure, etch time,etc.

Examples of chamber sensors that may be monitored during depositioninclude mass flow controllers, pressure sensors such as manometers, andthermocouples located in pedestal or chuck. Appropriately programmedfeedback and control algorithms may be used with data from these sensorsto maintain desired process conditions. Tungsten hexafluoride, or otheretching byproduct, may be sensed to provide an indication of how muchtungsten has been removed.

The foregoing describes implementation of embodiments of the inventionin a single or multi-chamber semiconductor processing tool.

Applications

The present invention may be used to deposit thin, low resistivitytungsten layers for many different applications. One application is forinterconnects in integrated circuits such as memory chips andmicroprocessors. Interconnects are current lines found on a singlemetallization layer and are generally long thin flat structures. Thesemay be formed by a blanket deposition of a tungsten layer (by a processas described above), followed by a patterning operation that defines thelocation of current carrying tungsten lines and removal of the tungstenfrom regions outside the tungsten lines.

A primary example of an interconnect application is a bit line in amemory chip. Of course, the invention is not limited to interconnectapplications and extends to vias, contacts and other tungsten structurescommonly found in electronic devices.

In certain embodiments wherein the deposition process is used for bitline applications, the final thickness of the tungsten film is between500 Å-2000 Å, with as-deposited film thicknesses between 500 Å-2500 Å.The process may also be used to deposit much thicker films if needed.Also as described above, the process may be used to deposit thin filmshaving low resistivity, e.g., films of thickness between 100 Å-1000 Å.In general, the invention finds application in any environment wherethin, low-resistivity tungsten layers are required.

Other Embodiments

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substituteequivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It shouldalso be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing themethods and apparatuses of the present invention. For example, althoughthe above description describes primarily CVD deposition, thedeposition-etch methods may also be employed with other types oftungsten deposition. It is therefore intended that the followingappended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations,modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of depositing a tungsten layer having athickness T_(d) on a substrate surface in a deposition chamber, themethod comprising: introducing a tungsten-containing precursor and areducing agent to the deposition chamber; depositing a layer of tungstenhaving a thickness T₁ directly on the substrate surface via a chemicalvapor deposition reaction between the tungsten-containing precursor andthe reducing agent; and removing a top portion of the deposited tungstenlayer, without exposing any part of the substrate surface on which thetungsten layer is deposited, to form a tungsten bulk layer havingthickness T_(d), wherein T_(d) is less than T₁ and wherein no more thanthe top portion is removed wherein the top portion is between about 5%and 25% of the thickness of the deposited tungsten layer.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein removing the top portion of the deposited tungstenlayer comprises etching between about 5% and 15% of the top thickness ofthe deposited tungsten layer.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein removingthe top portion of the deposited tungsten layer comprises etching about10% of the top thickness of the deposited tungsten layer.
 4. The methodof claim 1 further comprising introducing a fluorine-containing compoundto a remote plasma generator upstream of the deposition chamber,generating atomic fluorine within the remote plasma generator, andflowing atomic fluorine from the remote plasma generator to thedeposition chamber to remove the top portion of the deposited tungstenlayer.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the partial pressure of thefluorine-containing compound introduced to the remote plasma generatoris at least about 0.7 Torr.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein the partialpressure of the fluorine-containing compound introduced to the remoteplasma generator is at least about 1 Torr.
 7. The method of claim 4wherein the fluorine-containing compound is NF3.
 8. The method of claim1 wherein T_(d) is between about 500 and 2000 Å.
 9. The method of claim1 wherein removing a top portion of the tungsten layer comprisesselectively removing vertically-oriented portions of tungsten grainsdeposited on the substrate.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein removing atop portion of the tungsten layer reduces resistivity of the tungstenlayer.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the reflectivity of thetungsten bulk layer having thickness T_(d) is 15% greater than that of abare silicon wafer.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the resistivity ofthe tungsten bulk layer having thickness T_(d) is less than that of afilm of thickness T_(d) deposited by chemical vapor deposition with nosubsequent etch operations.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein thereflectivity of the tungsten bulk layer having thickness T_(d) isgreater than that of the film of thickness T_(d) deposited by chemicalvapor deposition with no subsequent etch operations and the roughness ofthe tungsten bulk layer having thickness T_(d) is less than that of thefilm of thickness T_(d) deposited by chemical vapor deposition with nosubsequent etch operations.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein theresistivity of the deposited tungsten bulk layer is less than about 15micro-ohm-cm.
 15. A method of depositing a tungsten layer having athickness T_(d) on a substrate surface in a deposition chamber, themethod comprising: introducing a tungsten-containing precursor and areducing agent to the deposition chamber; depositing a layer of tungstenhaving a thickness T₁ directly on the substrate via a chemical vapordeposition reaction between the tungsten-containing precursor and thereducing agent; removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten layer,without exposing any part of the substrate surface on which the tungstenlayer is deposited, to form a tungsten bulk layer having thicknessT_(d), wherein T_(d) is less than T₁ wherein the top portion is betweenabout 5% and 25% of the thickness of the deposited tungsten layer; andstopping the removing process after the top portion is removed.
 16. Amethod of depositing a tungsten layer having a thickness T_(d) on asubstrate in a deposition chamber, the method comprising: introducing atungsten-containing precursor and a reducing agent to the depositionchamber; depositing a blanket layer of tungsten having a thickness T₁ onthe substrate via a chemical vapor deposition reaction between thetungsten-containing precursor and the reducing agent; prior topatterning the blanket layer, removing a top portion of the depositedtungsten layer to form a tungsten bulk layer having thickness T_(d),wherein T_(d) is less than T₁ and wherein no more than the top portionis removed; and after removing the top portion, etching the tungstenbulk layer having thickness T_(d) to define one or more features.
 17. Amethod of depositing a tungsten layer having a thickness Td on asubstrate surface in a deposition chamber, the method comprising:introducing a tungsten-containing precursor and a reducing agent to thedeposition chamber; depositing a layer of tungsten having a thickness T1directly on the substrate surface via a chemical vapor depositionreaction between the tungsten-containing precursor and the reducingagent; and removing only between about 5% and 25% of the top thicknessof the deposited tungsten layer to form a tungsten bulk layer havingthickness Td, wherein Td is less than T1, wherein the removing operationis performed without exposing any part of the substrate surface on whichthe tungsten layer is deposited.